JOHN ELWAY

Former Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Reeves has died at the age of 77.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said Monday night’s game against the Cleveland Browns could be his last at Heinz Field.

Jim Harbaugh has been the most scrutinized coach in college football for seven seasons, defined by his failures despite a resume loaded with success.

Vic Fangio didn't pay much attention when the Kansas City Chiefs stumbled to a 3-4 start. The same juggernaut that's won the AFC West every year since 2016 while piling up a cumulative 73-28 record while the Broncos had stumbled to a 38-53 mark since winning Super Bowl 50. The Chiefs (7-4), fresh off a bye, opened as 9½-point favorites, according to FanDuel SportsBook.

Aaron Jones caught three of Aaron Rodgers’ four touchdown passes and rushed for a fourth score, and the Green Bay Packers had a welcome return to normal after an embarrassing opening-week loss.

The Denver Broncos are going with Teddy Bridgewater over Drew Lock as their starting quarterback.

Peyton Manning isn't ruling out a possible role with the Denver Broncos given the franchise's uncertain ownership situation.

(AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)Bill Belichick never was one to spent wildly in free agency. Whether by trade, free agency or re-signings, the group brings a good mix of offense, defense and special teams. In addition to keeping Von Miller, Justin Simmons and Shelby Harris, Paton filled his biggest defensive pothole by signing free agent cornerbacks Ronald Darby and Kyle Fuller. FUTURE CONSIDERATIONSThe Lions didn’t do much in free agency but nobody in Detroit should be bothered. The Lions are focused on rebuilding through the draft after sending QB Matthew Stafford to the Rams and then letting star wide receiver Kenny Golladay walk in free agency.

FILE - In this Jan. 22, 2020, file photo, AFC linebacker Von Miller, of the Denver Broncos ,smiles during NFL football practice at the Pro Bowl in Kissimmee, Fla. Prosecutors said Friday, March 5, 2021, that Broncos star linebacker Von Miller won't face criminal charges following an investigation by police in a Denver suburb. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan, File)ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – The Denver Broncos have exercised star linebacker Von Miller's 2021 option. The Broncos tweeted without comment an image of Miller celebrating the team's Super Bowl triumph five years ago. 2 overall pick behind Cam Newton, whom he dominated in Super Bowl 50 to help Denver beat Carolina 24-10 in Peyton Manning's farewell game.

After all, more than 100 million people in the United States tune in to watch the Super Bowl every year. According to statista.com, Bud Light is the most popular beer for Super Bowl Sunday, taking up more than 12% of the total beer consumed. Anheuser-Busch will forego promoting Budweiser this year, with the money reserved for its Super Bowl ad donated to coronavirus vaccine awareness efforts. I brought the chips!”This spot brings together an ensemble of Super Bowl legends. Disney had released a trailer for “Black Widow” during the 2020 Super Bowl.

In this still image from video provided by the NFL, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) speaks during Opening Night for the NFL Super Bowl 55 football game Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. In his short time as a starting quarterback, Mahomes has put together perhaps the best three-year stretch of play the game has ever seen. That would make the 25-year-old Mahomes the youngest quarterback ever with two Super Bowl wins, reaching the mark a year before Brady and Ben Roethlisberger both did. Tampa Bay cut its blitz by more than half in the first meeting when Mahomes gashed the Bucs for 462 yards and three TDs. Mahomes also thrives on corner and go routes as his strong arm helps him make some of the more difficult throws.

“He was determined to get it by any means, wouldn’t let failure be an option,” Barrett recounted. Barrett will have a starting — and maybe starring — role in Super Bowl 55 when the Buccaneers (14-5) face Mahomes and the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs (16-2) Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. Barrett had a monster debut in Tampa, collecting an NFL-best 19½ sacks, forcing six fumbles and earning his first Pro Bowl nod in 2019. Mahomes remembers Barrett in Denver as a player who never let quarterbacks exhale whenever Miller or Chubb tapped out for a breather. He’s got great speed, he’s got great power, he’s got a ton of moves,” Remmers said.

– The Kansas City Chiefs had a pretty good idea what kind of COVID-19 protocols they would have to wade through in defense of their Super Bowl championship the moment they finally gathered for in-person training camp. And it was Burkholder who helped the Chiefs navigate the season with few positive tests and just one postponement — the fault of the other team — as they closed in on a Super Bowl repeat. Those were things we just didn't know, and it was a process to figure out how to do this.”AdUltimately, the Chiefs and Buccaneers are in the Super Bowl in part because they figured it out as well as anybody. It's easy to follow the example of Tom Brady, with six Super Bowl rings behind him and the Hall of Fame in front of him, when he demands the Buccaneers mask up. The same with Patrick Mahomes, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, when he tells the Chiefs to skip the family gatherings around the holidays.

(AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)For Tom Brady, another trip to the Super Bowl — but this time, in a Tampa Bay uniform. “Whoever would've thought a home Super Bowl for us? It gave New England its third straight trip to the Super Bowl, and Brady's last of nine as a member of the Patriots. He's leading the Buccaneers to only their second Super Bowl; the Bucs won on their first trip, back in 2002. But nobody would mistake Johnson for Brady, who could join Peyton Manning as the only other quarterback to win a Super Bowl with two franchises.

“Every year, Jan. 20 is a special and emotional day,” Rivers said in a statement posted on the team’s website. “It is St. Sebastian’s Feast day, the day I played in the AFC championship without an ACL, and now the day that after 17 seasons, I’m announcing my retirement from the National Football League. I am grateful to the Chargers for 16 seasons, and the Colts for the 17th season.”Rivers was one of a kind. In the 2006 season opener, Rivers made his starting debut — and then the next 251 in a row including the playoffs. “My son never did throw a big ball like I did at that age and he throws it the exact same way,” Rivers said.

The Buccaneers defeated the Packers 31-26 to advance to the Super Bowl. Tampa Bay (14-5) is the first team to play a Super Bowl in its home stadium. The prize is much different this year, though, because the Super Bowl will be played in front of a far smaller crowd than usual. The first Super Bowl in 1967 was played in front of 61,946 fans at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Eagles backup Nick Foles threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns, a sign of things to come in the Super Bowl against New England.

(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)The NFL has never seen a playoff matchup quite like the upcoming one between Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Drew Brees’ New Orleans Saints. Brees has thrown for more yards than any QB in the regular season with 80,358 and ranks second in TD passes with 571. Brady holds the mark for touchdowns with 581 and trails only Brees in yardage with 79,204. The combined age of the starting quarterbacks will be an NFL-record 85, surpassing the 84 from their two starts in the regular season this season. The team that swept the regular season series won 14 of the previous 22 matchups, which bodes well for the Saints this week.

FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2020, file photo, Denver Broncos general manager John Elway speaks during a news conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis. Elway, who has been GM since 2011, will remain as president of football operations in 2021, the final year of his contract. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)DENVER – John Elway announced a major change in the Denver Broncos’ football operations Monday, saying he’ll hire a general manager who will report to him but have final say on the draft, free agency and the roster. Elway, who has been GM since 2011, will remain as president of football operations in 2021, the final year of his contract. Elway said the new GM will be “empowered to make all football decisions, working in partnership with Vic.”“John Elway is the most important and impactful person in the history of the Denver Broncos.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Many viewers cringed at Denver’s ugly loss to the Saints behind a rookie receiver pressed into duty because every Broncos quarterback was barred by the NFL over coronavirus concerns. A three-year starter at Vanderbilt, Shurmur spent last season on the Chiefs’ practice squad. After Driskel’s positive test, a league investigation deemed Lock, Rypien and Bortles as high-risk close contacts and ordered them into quarantine Saturday. Hinton returned to catching passes, not throwing them, when he went back to the practice squad Wednesday. Miller has made it his goal to play this season after a freak ankle injury six days before the opener.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – The novel coronavirus has reached the highest levels of the Denver Broncos organization with general manager John Elway and team president Joe Ellis testing positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. The team said no players or coaches came into close contact with either Elway or Ellis recently. “Based on a review of contact tracing data with the league, we are confident these cases originated independently outside team facilities,” the Broncos said. Players, coaches and other employees also wear contract tracing devices to help curb any outbreaks. The Broncos have been under the league's enhanced COVID-19 protocols since Modkins' infection.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The novel coronavirus has reached the highest levels of the Denver Broncos organization with general manager John Elway and team president Joe Ellis testing positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. The team said no players or coaches came into close contact with either Elway or Ellis recently. “Based on a review of contact tracing data with the league, we are confident these cases originated independently outside team facilities,” the Broncos said. Players, coaches and other employees also wear contract tracing devices to help curb any outbreaks. The Broncos have been under the league’s enhanced COVID-19 protocols since Modkins’ infection.

– New England coach Bill Belichick says the team is continuing to prepare to play its against the Denver Broncos after the Patriots returned no new positive COVID-19 tests on Thursday. “This is really more of a medical situation than a football situation,” Belichick said during a conference call Thursday morning. “So we’ll work through the decisions and input from the people in the medical field, a combination of the Patriots and league. Gilmore didn’t test positive until Tuesday. If a player tests positive but shows no symptoms, he must either wait 10 days from the initial positive test, or can return after having two consecutive negative tests 24 hours apart.

SAN FRANCISCO – Gary Hughes, a beloved professional scout for numerous big league organizations during a 54-year career, has died in Northern California after a battle with cancer. “Gary Hughes was the quintessential baseball man,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “Without Gary Hughes, I probably would have never played a day in the big leagues," said Kevin Millar, a 12-year major league veteran. Hughes' son, Michael “Rock” Hughes, longtime Marlins visiting clubhouse manager, is married to Counsell's sister. “Gary was one of the great baseball scouts," former baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said, "and one of the great baseball minds of our generation.”___AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.

Denver Broncos tight end Jake Butt takes part in drills during an NFL football practice in empty Empower Field at Mile High, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)ENGLEWOOD, Colo. Star-crossed tight end Jake Butt felt better this summer than ever before. On Saturday he joined Washington quarterback Alex Smith as one of the NFL's biggest feel-good stories on cutdown day. Im really happy I stuck with it because I do feel really, really good out there. Bad days are going to come and tough days are going to come, but you cant quit.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. From the antimicrobial mist the Denver Broncos strolled through on their way to the practice fields to the hand-held whistles for masked-up coaches, NFL training camps have a very different look and feel this year. What it does is it really creates less of an opportunity for those guys to make our football team. Were going to have to find guys with the expanded practice squad, which we have spots for four veterans. Were going to have to find the right guys to be able to expand the practice squad with, Elway said. We have to appeal to their intelligence, their pride, their responsibility that, hey, this is different, Fangio said.

Fangio's remarks came during a media call Tuesday after the team addressed the widespread demonstrations that were sparked by a white police officers killing of a handcuffed black man in Minnesota last week. Broncos safety Kareem Jackson spearheaded the effort, saying players needed to do more than tweet and talk about systemic racism, social injustice and police brutality. It isnt known if Elway will join the players at the state capitol. On Friday night, Elway tweeted that he spent much of the week listening to his players and coaches and realized his views he's held for decades were wrong. I realize I have a long way to go, but I will keep listening and learning, Elway added.

Team president Joe Ellis addressed the offense and defense in separate Zoom calls that replaced the teams regular video conference sessions, which are a substitute for in-person training during the pandemic. Maybe we can get out and put together a march as a team or something like that.After the Zoom calls, the Broncos tweeted, We will stand by our players. Fangio said society could learn a lot from an NFL locker room, where skin color is no barrier. I look forward to the Broncos and the NFL leading that charge, Fangio said. We pledge our allegiance to the flag for freedom and justice for all and we do not have our justice.

The Denver Broncos have finalized a three-year, $7 million deal with free agent punter Sam Martin, the third former Detroit Lions player signed by general manager John Elway this month. Martin joins former Detroit teammates Graham Glasgow and Jeff Driskel in Denver. Glasgow, a guard and center, signed a four-year, $44 million deal and Driskel signed a two-year, $5 million contract to serve as quarterback Drew Locks backup. In seven seasons, hes averaged 46 yards per punt with a 40.9-yard net average with 38 touchbacks and 175 punts inside the 20-yard line. The Broncos also announced Monday that they had re-signed unrestricted free agent Jeremiah Attaochu to a one-year contract.

Tom Brady has been synonymous with the AFC championship for the last two decades. Sundays showdown between the throwback Tennessee Titans (11-7) and the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs (13-4) marks the first AFC championship game since 2010 without Brady barking under center and Bill Belichick scowling on the sideline. Its also the first time since 2002 that the AFC championship doesnt include Brady, Manning or Roethlisberger. Bradshaw bounced back to win four AFC titles in six seasons, parlaying each of them into a Super Bowl ring. I know the Cleveland Browns feel terrible.BRADY VS. MANNING XVIIIn the AFC championship match in Denver on Jan. 24, 2016, Brady and Manning met for the 17th and final time.